The Portuguese device to combat the fire that breaks out in the province of Zamora, in Spain, has increased to 39 operatives and 13 vehicles, after adding elements of the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF), Civil Protection has announced .
According to information provided to the Lusa agency by a source from the Bragança District Relief Operations Command (CDOS), “at the moment there are 39 operations” on the Spanish side of the border.
According to the same source, these are technical elements of the ICNF, keeping the number of firefighters at 26.
As for the Portuguese vehicles on land, with the incorporation of ICNF elements, they went from six to 13, according to the same Civil Protection source.
Asked if there is a risk that the fire will spread to Portugal, the source said that “at the moment, no.”
In the Serra da Coroa reserve, where the fire is taking place, more than 20,000 hectares have already been burned, mainly forest area with pine trees and scrub, according to the Junta de Castilla y León.
The fire was the product of a combination of circumstances such as dry storms with strong electrical discharges, lack of rainfall, temperatures above 40 degrees, low humidity and strong winds.
There are also Spanish air assets on site. According to the Efe agency, the fire in the Spanish province, which borders the district of Bragança, forced the evacuation of 14 towns, with a total of 1,700 inhabitants.
However, of the 14 villages evacuated, the inhabitants of seven were able to return to their homes: Boya, Cabañas de Aliste, La Torre de Aliste, Mahíde, Palazuelo de las Cuevas, Pobladura de Aliste and San Pedro de las Herrerías.
Currently, the towns of Villardeciervos, Ferreras de Arriba, Villanueva de Valrojo, Ferreras de Abajo, Flechas, Codesal and Cional, whose inhabitants spent the night in sports halls, continue to be evacuated.
The fire also forced the closure of national highway 631, between the towns of Litos and Villanueva de Valrojo, and provincial highways ZA-912, between Villardeciervos and Mahíde, ZA-P-1407, between Sarracín de Aliste and Ferreras de Abajo, and ZA -P-2639, between Villardeciervos and Val de Santa María.
Portuguese firefighters fight fire that affects 20 thousand hectares in Zamora
Source: Observadora
